In Spanish football it can be said to be a roughly unwritten rule. If a team wins the title with the league match remaining, the host team gives the guard of honor in the next matches on the opponent’s field. Real secured the La Liga title with 4 matches remaining after beating Espanyol 4-0 last week.
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The first match after the title was secured was against Atletico, who won the league last time out. There has been a lot of speculation for days about whether the newly ex-champions will give a guard of honor to the current champions.
Atletico himself poured water on all the buzz. According to the press release, they will not give guard of honor to Real. As a result, Cruz-Madrichra went to play at Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico’s grounds, thinking that he would not receive the Guard of Honor today. Real, who did not get the guard of honor, did not win in the end. Atletico, who lost the league, were relieved to win 1-0. Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco scored from the penalty spot.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti has fielded a very weak team in the derby match against Atletico. Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Federico Valvarde, Vinicius Jr., Dani Carvajal, Farlan Mendi, Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba – none of them were in the XI. Ancelotti wanted to see players like Andrei Lunin, Jesus Vayeho and Luka Jovic sitting on the bench all year.
And Atletico has taken advantage of that. A 40-minute penalty kick went ahead, and that goal later became the deciding factor. However, there is a lot of debate about the penalty. In the box, Atletico’s Brazilian striker Mathews Kunia was kicked in the leg by Jesus Viejo, from where Atletico was awarded a penalty with the help of VAR.
However, when Vayeho was pressing Kunia’s feet, the question arose as to whether Kunia was in a position to get the ball. However, no matter how many questions arose, it did not stand in the way of Atletico’s goal.
Although the defeat did not add to the losses of Real Madrid, Atletico has gained a lot due to the victory. Their dream of going to the Champions League next season has become a little brighter. Atletico are fourth in the league table with 64 points after 35 matches.
